Senior Heartbeat


[PDF]Senior Heartbeat - Rackcdn.com04fd798092a71e8fdc9a-164201c57314f2089ad9851de8765a71.r37.cf2.rackcdn.co...

4 downloads 150 Views 781KB Size

November 2018 Volume 27 Issue 11

Senior Heartbeat

Dale Oden Minister of Pastoral Care [email protected]

Fred Benefield President [email protected]

Eddie Blick Editor [email protected]

Autumn trip leaves strong impressions By Dale Oden Our 39 travelers experienced a wonderful time on our recent fall trip to North Carolina and Tennessee. The visit to the Billy Graham Library and Museum was very enjoyable. It is a place that is a tribute to the man who preached the gospel to millions of people all over the world. We got to visit his boyhood home which has been restored on the grounds of the Library. We also had the opportunity to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville,

N.C. This is an impressive home! Our guides were Margie and Ron White. Margie does tours of Biltmore for groups and is knowledgeable about the home and gardens. They added a nice personal touch for our folks. On Monday, we made our way to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., for the Celebrators Conference. The sessions each morning and evening were filled with wonderful music and preaching. Dr. David Jeremiah was the fea-

tured preacher for most of the sessions. There were several groups that sang each morning and evening. The music at all the services was inspirational and worshipful. One of the highlights of the conference was the Patriotic Service on Wednesday night. Former President George W. Bush was the keynote speaker for the service. A choir and orchestra did many of the same arrangements of the songs used in our patriotic program here at

Words make all the difference A lawyer, who had a wife and 12 children, needed to move because his rental agreement was terminated by the owner who wanted to reoccupy the home. But he was having a lot of difficulty finding a new house. When he said he had 12 children, no one would rent a home to him because they felt that the children would destroy the place. He couldn’t say he had no children, because he couldn’t lie — we all know lawyers cannot and do not lie. So he sent his wife for a walk to the cemetery with 11 of their kids. He took the remaining one

with him to see rental homes with the real estate agent. He loved one of the homes and the price was right. The agent asked: “How many children do you have? He answered: “Twelve.” The agent asked “Where are the others?” The lawyer, with his best courtroom sad look answered “They’re in the cemetery with their mother.” MORAL: It’s not necessary to lie, one only needs to choose the right words and don’t forget, most politicians are, unfortunately, lawyers. —From Fred Benefield

Temple. It was a great trip. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers as we traveled. The rains came all morning last month for our luncheon. Just before noon the rains ceased, and the sun appeared. I am thankful that some of you were able to brave the weather for our meeting. Jeff Toms did a wonderful job entertaining us. I hope you will join us for our November luncheon. We are changing our

regular luncheon date to the fourth Tuesday instead of third Tuesday. This is because of Thanksgiving Day being two days before our regular meeting. We will meet on Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 11:45 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Our program will feature none other than Temple’s own Chet Atkins (aka, Richard Hood). We always enjoy Richard’s playing, so come join us on Tuesday, the 27th!

Page 2

November 2018

Chuckle Corner A kindergarten teacher asked her students to bring something related to their religion class. At the appropriate time, she asked the students to come forward and share with the rest of the class. The first child said, “I am a Muslim, and this is my prayer rug.” The second student said, “I am Jewish, and this is my Star of David.” The third child said, “I am a Catholic, and this is my rosary.” The final child said, “I am a Baptist, and this is my casserole dish!” —From Bonnie Nolan  If you want to stay young, associate with young people. If

you want to get old in a hurry, try to keep up with them.  A husband went to buy a birthday gift for his wife. Some friends had been invited over that night to celebrate her 40th birthday, and he wanted to get something special. At the store, he spotted some cute music boxes, with a blue one playing “Happy Birthday.” Assuming that they all played that song, he chose a red one and had it gift-wrapped. At dinner, he gave his wife the present. When she opened it and lifted the lid, out came “The Old Gray Mare, She Ain’t What She Used to Be”! — From The Joyful Noiseletter

Paul: a man of action for the Master Observe what St. Paul did at Athens. He did something. He was not the man to stand still and “confer with flesh and blood” in the face of a city full of idols. He might have reasoned with himself: •that he stood alone •that he was Jew by birth •that he was a stranger in a strange land •that he had to oppose the rooted prejudices and old associations of learned men •that to attack the old religion of a whole city was to beard a lion in his den

•that the doctrines of the Gospel were little likely to be effective on minds steeped in Greek philosophy. But none of these thoughts seem to have crossed his mind. He saw souls perishing; he felt that life was short and time was passing away; he had confidence in the power of his Master’s message to meet every man’s soul; he had received mercy himself and knew not how to hold his peace. He acted at once, and what his hand found to do, he did with all his might. Oh, that we had more men of action in these days. — Ryle

As you prepare your shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, please be sure to pray for the recipient of each box.

Senior Heartbeat

Thank You Thank You, God, for everything I’ve experienced here on earth. Thank You for protecting me from the moment of my birth. And thank You for the beauty around me everywhere: The gentle rain and glistening dew, the sunshine and the air, The joyous gift of feeling the soul’s soft, whispering voice That speaks to me from deep within and makes my heart rejoice. Oh God, no words are great enough to thank You for just living, And that is why every day is a day for real thanksgiving. —From The Joyful Noiseletter

Senior Heartbeat

November 2018

Page 3

Lew Wallace and ‘Ben-Hur’

Writing led author to knowledge of Christ

By Ann Clark Lew Wallace, who was always considered to be an atheist, was best known as the author of “Ben-Hur.” His family and associates had always assumed he was an atheist. As a child he been fascinated with the Bible verses in Matthew describing how the wise men came to Jerusalem to see the Christ child. He did attend church with his family and his wife, but he did not consider himself religious and realized he had paid little attention to the messages he had heard until he was in the middle of the writing of “Ben-Hur.” He had completed what he thought was about half of the book on “Ben-Hur” when he made a train trip. The remainder of the book was inspired by a conversation on this train trip to Indianapolis in September 1876 with Col. Robert Ingersoll, one of the bestknown atheists of the time. By the time they got to Indianapolis, Wallace said he was so ashamed of his ignorance of religion and his inability to answer the man’s bold statements that he determined he must study the Bible if he thought to complete “BenHur.” In trying to imagine how to make the book more compelling, he realized in a flash of inspiration that he could write a book detailing the religious and political situation of the world that “would demonstrate a necessity for a Saviour.”

Most of the book was written under a gigantic beech tree in a rocker with a lap board on which to write laid across the arms of his chair. The last part of “Ben-Hur” was written in the Palace of Governors in Santa Fe, N.M. Wallace was appointed governor of New Mexico Territory in 1878 to settle the Lincoln County Wars. In order to accomplish this, he granted amnesty to all involved, providing they had not been indicted for any crimes. Billy the Kid actually testified against others involved in the killings after talking to Gov. Wallace. But he had been indicted for killing three men, and he escaped from jail to avoid standing trial. One of the last documents Lew Wallace wrote as governor was Billy’s official death warrant.

On Nov. 29, 1899, he attended the opening night performance of “Ben-Hur” on Broadway. An overnight, smash hit, it ran for 21 years, 2,500 performances, with the race actually being run on stage with eight live horses and two chariots. It was taken on the road around North America, appeared in Europe and in Australia and New Zealand. Since its first publication in 1880, Lew Wallace’s novel “Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ” has never been out of print. It has been called the most influential Christian book of the 19th and 20th centuries, and it continues to draw readers today as it weaves the true story of Jesus with that of a fictional young Jewish nobleman named Judah Ben-Hur. Wallace was part-way through his autobiography

when he died at his home on Feb. 15, 1905, at the age of 77. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery where his grave is marked with a 30-foot obelisk monument designed by Sidney Speed. An article in the Humanities magazine, said that the writing of the book transformed the life of the author. Lew Wallace said “As ‘Ben-Hur’ guided readers through the scenes of the Passion, so did he lead the way for me to believe in Jesus Christ.” He said “I have seen the Nazarene....I saw him perform works which no mere man could perform.” Just as Wallace’s research, reading of the Bible and writing led him to believe in Jesus, so God’s Word draws us to a transformation of mind and heart by which we have eternal life in and through Him.

NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE

Temple Baptist Church

PAID

PERMIT # 160 RUSTON, LA

1515 S Service Road West Ruston, LA 71270

Congratulations!!! November Birthdays

1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 6 7 8 9

Louie Miller Janet Faulkner Bruce Thompson Helen Shrell Pete Theodos Dave St. Andre John Ed Colvin Virginia Shaver Peggy Grau Brenda Smith Linda Reneau Sherry McConathy Fred Benefield

10 10 10 11 11 11 12 13 13 13 13 13 14

Sam Holland Jim Oakes John Shealy Tom Boniol Patricia Day Donnie Owens Pete Larance Betty Harris James Young Patsy Causey Lynda Mills Mary Wilkinson Wayne Bunn

14 16 16 16 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 22 23

Gray Hipp Linda Graham Peggy Thompson Kathy Shealy Thelton Ginn Hubert Estes Nancy Whittenburg Louis Lambert Joe Dickson Bill Brown Eddie Grafton Nelda Harris Tommy Sisemore

24 24 25 26 26 27 29 29 29 30

Susie Doughty Troy Ham Susan Corley Shayla Blake Karen Stamm Mark Rambin Georgia Myers Vivian Magee Ernestine Young Jaquatta Tubbs

November Anniversaries 1 Maria and Donnie Owens (1958) 21 Sherry and James Jones (1970) 17 Louise and Leonard McAdams (2007) 24 Cindi and Bill Austin (1964) 19 Pat and Don Tippit (1961) If you would like your birthday and/or anniversary added to the lists published each month in Senior Heartbeat, please call the Church Office (255-3745).